Convincing Her not to Hate Him
by mysteryssister
Summary: James' parents are going on vacation, so he gets to spend the summer at Lily's house. She's thinking she's going to either to die or kill him, but James plans to use the opportunity to get her to like him. And with Sirius in the picture...Funny! mostly...
1. You Sold My Soul to the Devil

A/N: this story should be pretty amusing. I hope you guys like it! It takes place in the summer after James' and Lily's 6th year at Hogwarts. They've both turned 17, just so you know.

"James?" Mrs. Potter called up the stairs. "Could you come down here, honey? Your father and I want to talk to you."

"Yeah, Mum. Be right down," he yelled back, tossing down his Quidditch magazine and rolling off his bed and onto his feet. He strolled past the piles of junk on his floor and out the Quidditch posters on his door. Thumping loudly down the stairs, he ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up even more than usual.

"Oh, sweetie, don't do that!" his mother scolded. "You look like- I don't even know what, but it isn't good."

Mr. Potter, a tall bald man with laugh lines carved into his face, chuckled, coming up from behind his wife. "Don't see much of a difference, myself. Come on, son. We'll talk at the table."

James followed his parents into the kitchen, where they sat on the tall stools around the pink granite island In the middle of the room.

"Well, son," his father began the discussion. He seemed incapable of calling James by his real name; he was always 'son'. "Your mother and I were thinking of going on vacation."

James took that to mean, "We have a nice, expensive vacation planned and a beautiful summer house picked out for just the two of us. We'll be leaving in a few days and coming back in a few months." "Without me?" he clarified.

"Well… Yes, honey." His mum looked a bit sheepish.

"Okay, great. When?" Honestly, James didn't mink much. Nearly every summer, his parents went on big, costly vacations. It just meant that he got even more free time in the summer.

"We were planning on going next week, actually, son. June 25.

"And we would be back around August 20," Mrs. Potter elaborated.

"Sounds good," James replied, slightly disinterested.

"The thing is, honey, you need someone to stay with." _Dang, _James thought. _It would've been nice to have the house to myself for two whole months. But oh, well._

"Could you think of anyone, son?" his dad asked.

"Well…" James thought for a moment, ticking mentally through his list of friends. "Sirius' mum hates my guts, so that's a no. Actually, I think he was thinking of coming here for vacation, but I guess that's not going to happen. Peter's on vacation, and so's Remus." He looked at his parents.

"That can't be all your friends, sweetie," his mum said slightly desperately. "Are you sure there's no one else?"

"You talk about that Evans girl a lot," his father mused. "What about her?"

James' eyes lit up. Spending the whole summer with Lily Evans… It would be heaven. "I don't know about her plans for the summer," he said honestly. "We could check." He crossed his fingers under the table. `

"I don't know, hon," his mum said hesitantly, running her hand through shoulder length black hair. "A girl? What if things got out of hand?"

_I wish,_ James thought. Out loud, he said, "Lily's not that kind of girl. Besides, she's got responsible parents, too."

Mrs. Potter bit her lip. "Well… All right, we can see. What's her floo address?"

"Uh, her parents are muggles, Mum," he reminded her.

"Oh! Of course. Well, it's a good thing I took muggle studies at school and had the sense to install a telephone. Devon, will you get the telephone directory for me, please? Unless you know her number, James?"

Privately, James thought that Lily wouldn't give him her number under pain of death, but just said, "No, I don't."

"Where is it, Lydia?" Mr. Potter called from the living room.

"In the cabinet near the sliding glass door."

He returned shortly lugging the thick directory in one arm, and set it on the table. "Here you are, Lydia. I have no idea how to work a phone. Go ahead and work your magic."

James and his mother rolled their eyes at the pun as the latter started skimming the phone book for Lily's number. "Ah, here we are," she said at last. "Evans, Christopher and Janine. Does that sond right, hon?" she asked James.

James thought back to the few times he'd heard Lily speak of her parents. "Yeah, I think so," he said.

"Excellent." She moved over to the wall and pulled the phone out of it's cradle, and started punching numbers into it, then raised it up to her ear. There was a pause, then she said, "Hello? Yes, is this Janine Evans? Yes? Oh, my name is Lydia Potter. You have a daughter named Lily, yes?... Oh, good. I got the right number… yes, my son James goes to school with her, I believe… Yes, that's right… Now, I hate to have to ask, but my husband and I are going on vacation, and James needs a place to stay… I really don't want to intrude, but I was hoping… Really?... We'll be gone from June 25 to August 20. I completely understand if that's too long… Are you sure?... Oh, thank you so much! You really are too kind. Thank you, Janine… Yes… Thank you. Goodbye!" She set the phone back in it's cradle, and turned, beaming, to James. "You'll be staying at the Evans', honey! And Janine Evans really is the sweetest woman. I'm sure you'll have a marvelous time."

In his room, James did a little victory dance, then started a letter to Sirius, his best friend.

"Dear Padfoot," he wrote

"I am the luckiest person in the world. I get to stay at Lily Evans' house for two whole months…"

***

Janine Evans set down the phone and called, "Lily?"

"Right here, Mum." Her daughter poked her head into the kitchen, dark red hair swinging. "What is it?"

"One of your classmates is going to be staying here for a while, Lil. His parents are going on vacation."

"Oh?" Lily replied warily. "Who is it?"

"Mother!" Lily's (non-magical) sister, Petunia, pranced into the room, hands on hips, every inch an exasperated teenager. "I can only handle _one_ freak around here. Lily's enough, why do her creepy friends have to stay here too?"

"Tuney, that's enough," Mrs. Evans said. "His mum said you know him, Lily. His name is James Potter."

"_**WHAT?!?!"**_Lily shrieked, gaping as her mind blanked out. This could _not_ happen. "You invited POTTER to stay HERE?!? WHY would you do this to me? _WHY?!?"_

Her mother frowned. "Lily, there's no need to be so melodramatic."

"Mum," Petunia whined. "Why'd you have to let another freak like Lily into the house?"

"Yes, why?" Lily cried. "I can't believe you would let scum like HIM within ten kilometers of this house! If he stays more than two days, I'm gonna die, I swear."

"Uh, try two _months_, creep," Petunia snapped, looking at the notepad their mother had used to write James' arrival and departure dates.

"TWO MONTHS?!?" Lily yelled hysterically. "I'm not going to survive! Why are you all trying to kill me?" Lily could not believe that her own mother had just invited her _worst nightmare_ to live with them for _two whole months._

"Lily, it can't be that bad. _Calm down,_" her mother commanded.

"_YOU JUST SOLD MY SOUL TO THE DEVIL AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO __**CALM DOWN?!?!!???!!!!"**_ Lily screamed.

Janine buried her face in her hands. "Oh, good lord," she groaned. "I'm trapped in a house with a whining teenager and a crazy hysterical one! And soon there'll be a third! Why do I do these things to myself?"

A/N: As I said, this should be funny. I hope you like it so far! I'll try to update soon-ish, but it could take a while. Also, the current title might not be permanent, just so you know. Please, please please review!

Love

k


	2. Dog Walking and Flirts

A/N: This took longer than I expected it to, so sorry to all you people. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!!! You guys are amazing!

Warning: I have some unhealthy addiction to italics. So if you're thinking, _Whoa, why does she have all these italics? It's weird! _Well, that's why. Bad reason, I know, but italics are fun.

This chapter is dedicated to Hannah, who wrote, like, half of it. Well, maybe not that much, but hey, she's still amazing.

If you asked he, though nobody did, Lily would have said that June 25 was the worst day of her life. Here she'd been thinking that she wouldn't have to put up with James Potter for the rest of the summer, at least, and now she had to _spend_ it with him! Life was so unfair.

James, on the other hand, thought that June 25 might very well be the _best_ day of his life. He could still barely believe his luck. He got to spend the whole summer with the beautiful Lily Evans, who he'd fancied for _six years._ Practically _forever_. Of course, she hated him, but he would have the _whole summer _(!!!) to work on her.

When James and his parents arrived at the Evans' house, Lily was hiding in her room, hoping she could escape Potter for this one day, at least. Sadly, this was pretty unlikely.

She heard a tinkling laugh from downstairs, and her mother's voice said, "I don't know why she's not down here. Maybe she forgot… Let me go get her."

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, then Janine's annoyed face appeared at Lily's door, and she hissed, "Lily, get down there right now. You're being extremely rude. I know you don't like James much-" _Understatement of the century, _Lily thought. "-but he is a guest, and you will welcome him as such."

Lily sighed. "Yeah, sorry, Mum. I'll be right there." Her mother's face vanished. Lily went to the circular mirror on her wall next to the door and combed her fingers through her hair, arranging it carefully. She may hate Potter, but she refused to show any weakness in front of him, and that included messy hair. She finally stomped downstairs, carefully fixing a calm expression to her face.

When James saw her, he grinned. "Hey, Lily."

"Hi," she said shortly. She would've ignored him completely if she wasn't afraid of being rude in front of the adults.

"Lydia, Devon," Janine addressed the tall, balding man and small, dark-haired woman standing behind James, "This is my daughter, Lily."

"Pleased to meet you," Lily gave her knee-jerk reaction. She wished they were gone. The whole stupid family. But _no._ He had to come invade her house, and _ruin her whole entire summer!_ Damn him to hell.

***

When James was all moved in, (Lily's mother had insisted that everyone help, and he seemed to take an excessively long time) Lily locked herself in her bedroom. She wasn't about to spend one extra second with _that boy_ that she wasn't absolutely required to. Oh God, how was she expected to _survive _this summer?

***

Two miserable days later, Lily was called out of her room (possibly the first time she'd left it except for meals yet) by her mother.

"Yeah?" she said when she got downstairs, deliberately ignoring James, who was lounging at the kitchen table.

"Mrs. Joyous came by yesterday, I almost forgot to tell you," Mrs. Evans said.

"She didn't ask to talk to me?" Lily asked, a bit hurt. Mrs. Joyous was their neighbor, and possibly Lily's favorite ever adult.

"Yes, she did," her mother answered, "but you were up in your room pretending to be asleep, so you missed your chance." Lily grimaced. "She was wondering if you could take care of her dogs while she's gone. She left early this morning, and she'll be back in two weeks. I said you could."

"Okay," Lily said happily. She loved the Joyous' dogs. "I'll go walk them now."

As Lily crossed to the door, James said, "Can I come?"

Lily's mouth was open to give an, "Absolutely not!" when her mother, the traitor, said sweetly, "Of course, James. I'm sure Lily will be glad for some help. Those dogs can be a handful."

Horrified, Lily yelped, "_What?!?_"

"See you later, honey."

Tight-lipped, she stopped out the door, followed by a very pleased Potter.

Inside the Joyous's pretty blue house, two very big and very excited golden retrievers leapt onto Lily.

"Blizzard! Flurry! Down!" she yelled, biting back a laugh. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm here! Flurry, you idiot! C'mere girl! Yes, Flurry, I know you're excited. _Chill._ Flurry, sit! Good girl." She finally managed to hook the leash onto Flurry's collar. "Good girl." Se thrust the end of the leash at James. "Hold this. Tight. She's strong." James glanced doubtfully at Flurry's silky golden fur and sweet brown eyes- and was nearly yanked off his feet as the dog charged for the door.

Lily smirked as she called for Blizzard. "Come here, boy. Yeah, Blizzard, that means you. Good boy. Sit." She clipped the leash on his collar as well and stroked his slightly graying fur as he panted patiently up at her.

Her smile turned quickly into a scowl when she saw James grinning at her, amused. "You take Blizzard," she snapped.

"Why?" he asked. "I've already got what's-her-name. Flurry?"

"Yeah, but I doubt you can handle her." As if to illustrate her point, the dog once again launched herself at the door; James went sprawling.

Lily choked back another laugh as she snatched up Flurry's leash and thrust open the door. Blizzard panted excitedly as Flurry tried to dash into the sunshine. Lily was more prepared than James had been, though, and merely lurched forward a step before regaining control of the dog.

"Flurry, stop that," she commanded. The brown eyes looked reproachfully up into her green ones, as if telling her off for being so slow. She swept out of the door as majestically as she could with two insane dogs yanking her forward.

"Hey!" James called, scrambling after her down the wooden steps leading away from the front door. "Don't I get one?" Lily regarded him coldly for a moment before disdainfully dropping Blizzard's leash into his hand.

Potter was better with dogs than Lily would have expected, possibly because, unbeknownst to Lily, his best friend turned into one on a regular basis. It didn't matter much to her, in any case. She walked fast, hoping that he wouldn't be able to keep up and he'd get lost. No such luck.

He caught up with her at the top of a long hill. "You're making this a lot harder than it needs to be," he panted.

"What? Walking?" she asked innocently. "It's not that difficult."

"No, not _walking_! I mean in general!"

"In general, you are a git."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, life sucks and then you die. Mine would be a lot better if you weren't in it, but I guess there are some things you just don't have any control over. Unfortunately."

"That hurt. Great outlook on life, Lils."

"Bug off, Potter. And don't you dare call me that."

"That's nice."

"And I really could care less what you think."

"That, Love, was harsh."

"If you call me 'Lils' or 'Love' one more time, I'll smack you so hard, by the time you come round, you'll need a haircut." _More than usual, I mean_, she thought.

They were in front of Lily's house again now, and her mother was outside, gardening. "Oh, Lily, good, there you are. You have a haircut with Kelly in about an hour."

"Oh, thank God," she commented.

"What?" James and Mrs. Evans asked.

"That means two hours less spent with you," she snapped, and ran inside the house, leaving James outside with her mother and two crazy dogs.

"Wow, she's not usually like this," Mrs. Evans commented.

"Yeah, well, I tend to bring out extremes in women," James said before he'd thought that comment through. Janine didn't know whether to raise her eyebrows, tell him off, or laugh. He left to take the dogs home before she got a chance to decide, thankfully. "What have I gotten myself into?" Mrs. Evans asked her tulip bulbs, shaking her head.

When James got back to the Evans', he got out a quill and parchment and wrote,

"Dear Padfoot,

So Lily's not too happy about me being here, big surprise. But hey, it's all good. I'll wear her down. I have _all summer_.

Oh, by the way, you're welcome to stay at my house if you still have a key; I don't. There's food and such, which will probably be good as you don't currently have a place to stay. I would invite you here, but I think poor Lily would crack under the stress. Not to mention her Mum. Wish you were here.

Prongs.

P.S. 1932 Teribithea Dr. - floo."

***

Lily touched her new haircut self-consciously. It wasn't nearly as long as she was used to. Soft locks in front framed her face, but behind, it dropped a third of the way down her back. It felt so weird. But she did like the look; Kelly had always been a genius with hair. She walked into her house and tried pulling her hair behind her ears, but it was too short to stay.

She managed to get all the way up the stairs and within eight feet of her room before running into James, which had to be some kind of record.

"Whoa," he said, blocking her way. "You look… I mean… you look hot."

"Don't make me hit you."

"What? I just complimented you!"

Someone wolf-whistled from behind her. "Oh, no. Potter, please tell me you didn't duplicate yourself," she begged.

"I would, but…"

"You do look hot, Evans." Lily turned, her fist outstretched, and felt it collide with the person behind her.

"Ouch! Lily! What was that for?!" Sirius Black yelped from his new hunched- over position.

"Oh, _whoops_. Sorry, Sirius. Didn't know it was you back there. Potter made me do it."

Sirius straightened. "You're forgiven. I'll kill him for it later." He grinned at her, and, to his surprise, she smiled back. Then, even stranger, she gave him a hug. "What's this?" he whispered in her ear.

"I'm trying to get on Potter's nerves."

"Oh, I am so in!"

Meanwhile, all James saw was his best mate and the girl he liked hugging for way too long and whispering in each other's ears. Not the greatest combo. When they pulled apart, which seemed like forever to James, Lily smiled sweetly.

"I hope you're staying for dinner, Sirius," she said in her best empty-headed flirt imitation.

"Definitely E… Lils." _She always yells at _me_ for saying the name! _James thought. _What is going on?_

Lily beamed. "Good." Leaning over, she kissed him on the cheek as he shook with suppressed laughter. James looked positively horrified. He was going to kill Sirius later, no doubt about it. "See you later, then," Lily said sweetly. Sirius winked at her when he knew James was looking as she practically skipped back into her room.

"_What was that?_" James hissed when she was gone.

"What?" Sirius asked innocently.

"You know exactly what!" James cried as he dragged his so-called 'friend' into the guest room where he was staying. "She hugged you and gave you a kiss and asked you to stay for dinner- and you let her!"

"Well, I have to eat," Sirius pointed out. "It's not really like I can go back to my house after I've run away and ask for food. The things my mother would do to me…" He shuddered.

"Yes, but that's not the point!" James said impatiently.

"Then what is?"

"You flirted with her when you _know_ I've fancied her for ages!" he wailed as quietly as he could.

"I wasn't flirting; that was all her," Sirius defended himself. "I know, she's all yours."

"And you forget it, you die."

Sirius was thinking that this was going to be the best summer he'd ever had.

A/N: Whoo-hoo! That was fun. Sirius and Lily are so amazingly mean… I love this story… hope you do too! Please please please review!!! I can't promise a super-fast update, but I'm more motivated when you guys let me know what you think!

Hope you love it. If you do, review! If you don't, review with constructive criticism!

Just press the little purple button. It's not that hard, I promise.

Love yas!

-k


	3. Well, if

A/N: I cannot begin to tell you guys how sorry I am to have taken this long for this chapter. School's been crazy, I know it's no excuse, but at least this chapter's done! I'll try to update more quickly next time, but I can't guarantee anything.

"Lily! James! Petunia! Come down for dinner!" Janine yelled up the stairs.

"Coming!" Three voices shouted back.

Lily arrived downstairs just after James and Sirius. "And who is this?" Janine asked as she emerged from the kitchen, raising an eyebrow at Sirius.

"Oh, Mum, this is my… friend, Sirius Black," Lily said sweetly. "I invited him to dinner. That's okay, right?"

"Yes, of course," her mother replied. "I'll go tell Petunia to set an extra place at the table."

"Is Dad home from work yet?" Lily asked.

"Yes, he just got back."

A few minutes later, they could hear Petunia slamming around in the kitchen, muttering furiously. "_One _freak was more than enough, and _two_ was too many! _Three! __**Three**_ freaky little…" They didn't hear the rest.

"Charming girl, your sister," James commented. Lily ignored him.

Dinner was, to say the least, tense. Janine was wondering if one of the two boys there was Lily's boyfriend (From the way James was acting, she would've guessed him to be the jealous boyfriend. From the way Lily was acting, Sirius would be a good guess too). Petunia was fuming over all the 'freaks' in her house. Sirius was a bit nervous from all the attention, thought teasing James was fun. Lily was trying to balance torturing James and keeping her family form being too suspicious, and James was wondering why life had to be so unfair as to make the girl he liked fancy his best mate.

After eating, Lily was sent to clean up the kitchen while Sirius said he had to go home (which meant invading James's empty house). James went to 'his' room to think. Since when had Lily liked Sirius? And was Sirius really telling the truth when he said he wasn't interested in Lily? _He didn't say he wasn't interested, _said a treacherous voice in James's mind. _He just said he wasn't flirting. _James shook his head. _Sirius is my best mate, _he told the voice. _I've got to trust _him_, at least. He wouldn't do that to me. No way would he take the girl he knows I'm in love with. I hope. _

Down in the kitchen, Lily was smirking to herself as she washed dishes. By hand, even though she could've done it by magic, since she was _finally _seventeen. But she wasn't thinking about dishes, she was thinking of how much fun driving James crazy really was. It was even more fun than driving her friends Alice and Mary crazy, and that ws saying something. She didn't dwell to much on _why _ driving James insane was so enjoyable; probably because he'd tortured her for six years and it was her chance to get even. She was _not _having fun for any other reason. No way. A single thought crept into her head, one that she had to banish fast: _What if you like driving him crazy because you can see that he hates even the thought of you liking someone else? What if you like that because it makes you know that he really does like you? What if you like that feeling, the feeling that he makes you belong? _

The next morning, Lily leaned on the porch railing, watching the sun inch it's colorful way into the sky. She wasn't normally up this early, but she had had trouble sleeping, and gave up around four in the morning.

"So, you and Sirius, huh?" The voice from the door startled her; she spun, but it was James, looking less cheerful than she had seen him since he'd been told he was too young to participate in the Triwizard tournament four years ago.

Maybe it was his expression. Maybe it was because she was too tired to bother thinking up stories. Maybe she didn't have an excuse. But she told the truth. "Not really." Lily turned her back to him, facing the sunrise again.

"What?"

_You deaf? _She thought. "I said, not really." _Now, go away so I can enjoy my morning. _

"Then… wait a second." There was a pause. Then- "That was _so _mean!"

"Wow, took you long enough. You really are an idiot."

"You are unbelievable!"

"When have I heard you say _that_ before?" Lily muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah, but then, it was a _good _thing! I cannot believe you would do that to me!"

"You know, Potter," she hissed, spinning to face him, "in the past seven years, I have said that to you so many times, I can't remember them all. Now, it's your turn."

James had a hurt puppy look on his face. "I never purposefully toyed with your feelings," he pointed out in his most wounded voice.

"That's because I have no feelings," Lily said regally. "And you humiliated me."

"I told you I loved you! How is that humiliating?"

"Have _you _ever had the most annoying girl in your life stand up in the middle of the Great Hall and declare her love to you? Trust me, it's humiliating!"

"Actually, I have, and it's not that bad. It just makes people laugh at her."

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ASSUME NO ONE WILL LAUGH AT YOU, SO THEY DON'T!" Lily was more than a bit fed up. She took a deep breath and continued more quietly. "And that time? They were definitely laughing at me."

"Wait a second!" James said quickly. "Did you just call me the most annoying boy in your life?"

"Not as if I haven't called you that before, Potter."

"Excuse me, Lily? I am seventeen years old now. Even if I am annoying, I am a _man_ now."

"And yet," Lily said sweetly, "you still act like you're six years old. So I still get to call you a boy, because no _man_ I know could ever be that immature."

"That, Love, was harsh."

"That, idiot, was the second time in two days you have said that, and it had better be the last."

"If you were nice to me, it would be."

"If everyone else was _dead_, I would not ever be nice to you."

"If everyone else was dead, you might start to appreciate me."

"If I ever appreciated you, it would be a sign of the apocalypse."

"If you ever bothered to try to know me, you would appreciate me."

"If I bothered to try to know you, I would hate you even more than I already do."

"If you hate me so much, why are we even having this conversation?"

"Because I've told you I hate you for seven years and you still don't believe me!"

"I've told you I love you for seven years, and _you_ still don't believe _me_!"

"Well, I wonder why that would be!"

"Yes, actually, I do wonder why that would be!"

"Hmm, this is a hard question."

"Yes it is! Why do you refuse to believe that I'm in love with you?"

"What is going on out here?"

Lily had never been that happy to have a conversation interrupted by her mother in her life. "Nothing," she said quickly.

"Well, if you're going to keep doing nothing, can you please keep your voices down? Petunia is still asleep," Janine scolded them.

"No problem, sorry Mum, I was just going inside anyways."

Lily made her escape, leaving James alone on the porch, the sun blazing brilliantly behind him in a pink and gold sky.

A/N: Again, sorry for the delay, please review! Maybe I'll update faster if I get more… :-)


	4. Bad News

A/N: I just realized, I said this takes place after their 6th year, but in their argument in the last chapter, Lily said that she hated James for 7 years and James said he loved Lily for 7 years. Oops, sorry! I meant 6. so yeah. Moving on! Sorry, again, for such a short chapter, and taking so long! I'll try to be faster next time. I'll try.

Lily would have happily locked herself in her room for the rest of the summer if she didn't have those stupid dogs to take care of. She did _not _want to see James. she was angry and annoyed and confused, and if she saw him, she would explode. The real problem was, that she didn't doubt him when he said that he loved her, or at least she believed that he had some sort of obsession with her. But she couldn't stand him! He was so… immature. Wasn't he? She thought of all the stupid and thoughtless things he'd done over the past few years. Yes, immature. Definitely. Irritatingly. Always. And now she had to walk the dogs. Great. Just fantastic.

***

James was as frustrated as Lily. She didn't believe that he loved her, he just knew it. She thought he was being a git, possibly with good reason, but at least he was trying! He also, however, didn't believe that she hated him. She was irritated, frustrated and confused with him, but she did not hate him. James also knew that he only thought that because otherwise, he would lose all hope. And he would be convincing her not to 'hate' him until the day he died. He was just hoping to heaven that it would work. James went back to the guest room.

***

Blessedly, Lily made it out of the house without running into anyone. She walked slowly to the Joyous's house, the heat and humidity of the wakening day bearing down on her with every step. As she stepped up onto the porch, checking her pockets, she realized she'd forgotten the key. Smiling slightly, she pulled her wand out and whispered, "Alohamora," thinking, _I love being seventeen_. Well, she loved being seventeen except for the cruddy hormonal stuff. That part sucked.

She almost toppled backwards when Blizzard and Flurry leapt at her, barking joyfully.

"Get _off _me, you stupid dogs!" she cried, but she was laughing. "Hold still! Yes, I'm going to walk you, get _down_!"

It took Lily almost ten minutes to get the leashes on the dogs and out the door, but she managed it eventually. She picked a long route to walk, despite the oppressive heat, eager to stay away from home, and James, as long as she could. She went slowly, though the dogs were tugging to go faster. The lengthy, winding, empty roads were a relief after the chaos and emotional confusion of her own house. Sighing, Lily turned the corner to the park- and lo and behold, he was there. The git.

***

James needed to get out. He needed to think. Ok, he also needed to 'run into' Lily, but that was beside the point. Not very far beside the point, but it _wasn't _the point. Even if it was _close _to the point, it still… his head hurt. The point _was_ that he was going out. Somewhere. Like the park! Parks were nice. Quiet, peaceful. A potential Lily-spotting point. _But,_ he reminded himself, _finding Lily is _not _the point._ So, to the park. James trudged out into the deadly heat.

***

"Why are _you _here?" Lily snapped, rather rudely.

"What, am I not allowed to go to the park on a warm summer's day?" James asked innocently.

"_Warm _summer's day my ass. This isn't warm. This is the temperature of the inside of the average fireplace with the fire going."

"What if I just wanted to get out?"

"Then you know I wouldn't believe you and you should think up a better excuse."

James sighed. Loving a girl was hard work, especially when she hated you and let you know it. "Aw, come on, Lils. I'm not _so _terrible, am I?" Then he realized that that was a stupid question and he'd only said it because he couldn't think of anything else. Lily gave him a _look_.

"Why do you hate me so much Lily?" James asked softly.

"Why are we even talking about this? We've had this conversation once today already!"

"Your mom interrupted before I got an answer to that particular question."

"Why do you care anyways?"

"I've already given you that answer today!"

They glared at each other. Lily broke the staring contest first. "Whatever. I have to get Blizzard and Flurry back home."

***

When Lily got back to the house, there was an owl tapping on her window with a newspaper tied to it's leg.

"A bit late today, aren't you?" she commented to it. "Isn't the newspaper supposed to be delivered at 7 o'clock or some ridiculously early hour like that?"

The owl squawked impatiently and Lily untied the paper, then dropped a Knut into the pouch on it's leg. The owl took off, soaring away from Lily's house. Lily, meanwhile, opened the paper- and gasped.

_**TWO MYSTERIOUS DEATHS AMONG HIGH-CLASS MINISTRY WORKERS**_, the headline of _The Daily Prophet_ blared. _**Believed to be the work of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named**_. The names underneath the headline were of Tabitha and Napoleon Bones, parents of Jed and Lacy Bones. Lacy was one of Lily's friends at Hogwarts.

Lily went completely white. "Oh my God," she whispered. Her hands were over her horrified mouth. "Oh my God, not Lacy. Oh my God." Lily felt so shallow now. She'd been worrying over an irritating boy and her friend's parents were dead. She'd been walking her neighbor's dogs, and somewhere out there, a wizard had murdered someone she'd cared about, and Lily had no way of knowing who could be next.

A/N: haha, cliffhanger! I'm not sure if I'll like this You-know-who thing in here, but I felt like I should put it in. I also just realized how very clichéd this story is. Oh well, we all need some clichés in our lives. Review, please!!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
